Cecil, Houston hit hard by flooding
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
David Grudi, center, and other Houston residents gather downtown to assess the damage from the remnants of Hurricane Ida. Grudi said this isn’t the first time flooding has hit the area hard.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
The bridge connecting Cecil Park’s parking lot to the William P. “Bill” Burns Pavilion was roped off Wednesday due to flooding. The creek usually runs under the bridge, but by Wednesday morning had risen to cover the grassy area surrounding the pavilion.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
From the parking lot at Cecil Park, visitors can usually see lush green grass and smooth concrete under the William P. “Bill” Burns pavilion. But Wednesday, all that was visible were floodwaters from the remnants of Hurricane Ida.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Floodwaters rose perilously close to homes in Cecil Township’s Ridgewood Heights Wednesday. The remnants of Hurricane Ida hit Cecil early Wednesday morning and subsided around lunchtime.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Floodwaters stood more than 3 feet deep in downtown Houston Wednesday morning. Along with the impassable South Haft and Western streets, the borough also closed Route 519 due to flooding from Hurricane Ida.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Despite major flooding in downtown Houston Wednedsay, Mayor Jim Stubenbordt said he had not received notification that any residents needed to be rescued from their homes. Flooding near Shelley’s Pike Inn spread to back roads and lots.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Floodwaters from Hurricane Ida reached the Houston Borough building Wednesday morning. Mayor Jim Stubenbordt said no damage was done to the building.
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First responders prepare to pump water from a residence along Baldwin Street in Bridgeville. The basement had at least 7 feet of water in it.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
First responders work to pump water from the basement of a home on Baldwin street in Bridgeville.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Water is pumped from a building in Bridgeville.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
An area beside Keystone Crane and Hoist Co. along Morganza Road flooded early Wednesday morning. The flooding did not impact the roadway but creek water covered the meadow below the business.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Bridgeville Volunteer Fire Department assistant Chief Mike Meglin directs crews as the department worked to assess and clean up after flooding led to evacuations and road closures Wednesday morning. Meglin said all the buildings along Baldwin Street and a couple on McLaughlin Run Road and Maple Street were evacuated. Cleanup was expected to be finished Thursday, Meglin said.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Robert Dallapiazza, who owns a building along Railroad Street in Bridgeville, wades through floodwaters Wednesday morning.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Ash Patel, who owns The Railyard restaurant on Railroad Street in Bridgeville, empties water from his boots Wednesday morning.
The remnants of Hurricane Ida caused serious flooding and damage in Cecil Township and Houston Wednesday, turning parts of Cecil into riverfront property and closing a primary thoroughfare in downtown Houston.
“(The creek) was dry, it was literally dry yesterday, just trickling,” said Kelly Warman, who lives along Wilson Avenue in Cecil. Warman began cleaning the “muck” from her garage when the rain stopped early Wednesday afternoon. She was thankful her garage wasn’t damaged but noted her surprise at how quickly the swift-moving creek rose.
“Probably about 7:30 (this morning) it just started jumping the bank, and then it just kept getting worse,” Warman said. “It come up fast; it comes up really, really fast.”
Ras Scariot said by lunchtime, the floodwater in his backyard near Billie Ann’s Diner in Cecil had subsided at least one foot – but the creek was still higher than average.
“At normal level, (the water) is probably a foot-and-a-half right here,” said Scariot. “Right now, that water would be over your head. You’d never make it across.”
Water levels also rose to new heights in Cecil Park, which looked more like a lake Wednesday morning.
“This is crazy. I’ve never seen this before,” said Corey Passieu, a 2021 Canon-McMillan graduate who stopped by the park to take photos and video of the flooding. “My dad, he’s lived here his whole life, too. He’s never seen it this bad before either.”
Passieu wasn’t the only local to frequent Cecil Park Wednesday afternoon. Because school was canceled due to weather, Megan Warwick took her four children to the park before lunchtime.
“All of Houston was flooded,” said Warick. “This is not a good time for this. I’m sure people’s finances are still recovering from (the pandemic).”
Cecil Township’s Parks and Recreation director Rick Truschel said when he clocked in at 6 a.m. Wednesday, the creek hadn’t flooded. In just a few hours, about 6 to 7 inches of rain had fallen, said Truschel.
“This is by far, in the eight years I’ve been here and since 2004, the worst it’s ever been,” he said.
The department placed sandbags around Cecil’s municipal building in case floodwaters covered the parking lot, but the water didn’t rise that high. Truschel said most of Wednesday was spent keeping roadways closed.
“The cleanup will really begin tomorrow,” he said Wednesday afternoon. “I expect to have everything cleaned up by the weekend.”
Down the road in Houston, cleanup will likely take longer. More than three feet of water collected downtown near a new bridge by Shelley’s Pike Inn on West Pike Street.
“I believe this is caused by the new bridge,” said Tom Russell, a Houston native who was prepared for Wednesday’s flooding. “Somebody has to do something about this because this is going to keep happening.”
Houston Mayor Jim Stubenbordt disagreed, saying “the bridge has absolutely nothing to do with the flooding.”
Stubenbordt said the extent of Wednesday’s flooding surprised him.
“At 7 this morning there was nothing, absolutely nothing, in the park,” said the mayor. “By 8 the entire (Arnold) park was completely covered in water. It came up very fast.”
With the assistance of the state Department of Transportation, the borough closed Route 519 and the intersection of South Haft and Western. Stubenbordt was hopeful the roadways would reopen by Wednesday evening.
“It’s receding now,” Stubenbordt said late Wednesday afternoon.
Not far away, residents of Bridgeville in Allegheny County didn’t fare much better, where some residents were forced to evacuate their homes.
Early Wednesday morning, residents of Baldwin and Maple streets and McLaughlin Run Road were evacuated, said Bridgeville Volunteer Fire Company’s assistant chief, Mike Meglin.
“Right around the creek area, we evacuated,” said Meglin. “We got everybody evacuated and the roads shut down.”
Among those roads shut down due to flooding was Railroad Street, which experienced disastrous flooding in 2018.
Ash Patel, who owns Railyard Grill and Tap Room, which was damaged in the last flood, said early Wednesday he wasn’t sure how much damage the remnants of the hurricane had caused to his restaurant.
“There’s a lot of water in the basement,” he said, dumping water out of his rain boot. “I can’t tell until the fire department (assesses the damage).”
Tom Durcis said this is the second time this year his property along Baldwin Street has flooded. Local fire departments spent much of Wednesday afternoon pumping at least seven feet of water out of Durcis’ basement and were working to empty other properties of floodwater as well.